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WDDA to Voice Concern about New Lead Testing Rules

The Window & Door Dealers Alliance has secured a meeting next week with the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs to discuss the lead clearance testing requirements for the Renovation, Repair, and Painting rule scheduled to take effect this summer. WDDA representatives will be asking regulators to stop implementation of the Environmental Protection Agency's proposed rule.

The new rule would expand upon current RRP certiciation and work procedure requirements that went into effect in 2010, explains David Walker, WDDA VP. Post-project test requirements would add additional costs and new potential liabilities for all remodeling companies, including window and door dealers. "We believe this rule would be extremely onerous to the window and door dealer industry and would not deliver the protections it claims," he adds.

WDDA members will be meeting with officials from OIRA, which is part of the White House's Office of Management & Budget. OIRA has final oversight over regulations created within various departments of the federal government, including EPA, notes Walker.

To prepare for the meeting, WDDA is seeking input from window and door dealers. "We'd like dealers to fill out an informal four-question survey to gather feedback that we can use to provide more information on the cost of the existing RRP regulations and the expected costs of clearance testing," Walker explains.